Optimizing a brand’s locations for search, discovery, and traffic — both online and in the real world

There has never been more ways to find a Starbucks. You can go to the store locator on the website. Chances are, it will be the mobile version, because that’s how local search happens more often than not.

Or you could use the Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Bing Maps apps. You could check Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook (Places), or the newest local discovery app, Vurb. If you’re over 50, then your car’s navigation system is also an option. What’s more, you might just type “coffee shop” into a search engine and see what comes up — could be a Starbucks but more likely it’s a neighborhood cafe.

This challenge for brands like Starbucks…and Bank of America and Target and McDonald’s and H&R Block and Verizon — any brand with hundreds or thousands of locations — boils down to two things: search and discovery. How easy is it for consumers to find the restaurant, the store, the branch, the office? That’s search. And how likely is one to find a particular store over another when searching the category? That’s discovery. All of which drives foot traffic, web traffic, and ultimately sales. Managing this at scale is no small task. Given how fragmented the local search ecosystem has become, brands face a nearly impossible challenge in getting this right.

What I’m describing here is broadly known as local SEO i.e. search engine optimization for physical locations. What are the benefits and ROI? Not only does it mitigate lost traffic and sales that would otherwise go to competitors, but if you do this right, it will generate incremental sales by owning premium real estate on the mobile devices of today’s consumer.

One thing is for certain. Tackling this challenge requires technology. It requires a software platform designed to automate the bulk of local SEO. It also requires the human touch to truly excel in this space. If you’re looking to win in local SEO, the solution must combine the best of both worlds: technology and services.

There’s a fundamental difference between the notion of “minimizing risk” and just “being careful.” It’s a lot like the difference between a glass half-full or half-empty. They technically mean the same thing, but the spirit is vastly different.

To be careful is to avoid risk as much as possible. A number of my friends choose not to ride road bikes in Los Angeles because the risk is seemingly too high. They’re being careful at the expense of enjoying world-class road routes lacing the Santa Monica Mountains. The risk is effectively zero but so is the reward.

To illustrate this another way, building a successful startup company is all about minimizing risk — the risk that you won’t get enough traction to continue funding the company before you run off a cliff…and out of cash. And when you achieve product-market fit, the risk goes from mere survival to not capitalizing on the opportunity. Because if you aren’t aggressive enough, the competition will crush you. In this sense, being careful can actually be the greater risk.

With the benefit of big data and online maps, you can often assess the overall risk of riding various routes in any given city. Below is a map of cycling accidents in Boston, which is compiled by the Boston Area Research Institute. One can glean key insights about where accidents happen most often and under what conditions.

A big part of minimizing risk is knowing what those risks are and then how they can be effectively mitigated, whether through trend data or the latest gear. Below are 10 gear-driven tactics for surviving all manner of cycling endeavors.

What it’s like to ride a century on the wheels of the Incycle-Cannondale pro team

We’re accelerating up a long, gradual climb in the Tour de Palm Springs, which unofficially kicks off century season in California. It’s early February, and the temperature is quickly approaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Palm Springs is a relatively flat century with just over 3,000 vertical feet of climbing, but we’re going up this particular ascent very fast. That’s because the group I’m with is being lead — pulled, that is — by the Incycle-Cannondale team. In other words, I’m riding 100 miles with the pros.

The team is off the front, pushing the pace. Glancing over the shoulder of the rider in front of me, I can see the top of the climb in the distance. I’m desperate to stay on his wheel and in the draft, that place of solace where you’re immune from the wind. This wheel is my only hope of staying with the group. And yet I can see that my heart rate is already pinned high in the red zone. There’s no way I can sustain this pace. The lactate is already pulsing into my leg muscles, and we still have 50 miles to go. I let up and quickly get dropped.

First came marathons, the ultimate runner’s test. Next there were century bike rides, the key milestone for a recreational cyclist. And more recently the Iron Man added swimming to become the ultimate test of one’s mettle. But there’s a new way to test your physical and mental fitness. They’re generally referred to as Adventure Bike Races or Endurance Bike Races, which range anywhere from 50 to 200 miles and include a healthy combination of pavement, gravel, and dirt roads.

According to the SPY Belgian Waffle Ride, which takes place in the San Diego area on April 26th, the route is “over 200 kms of suffering over sinuous, bone grinding roads fraught with arduous climbs, mud, chocking dust, leg-numbing sleet or heat, and winds.” It’s quite the endurance cocktail, to be sure.

The routes for these races, which can also be ridden recreationally, exist in a no-man’s-land between road cycling and mountain biking. The surfaces are too rough for skinny tires and not quite interesting enough for fat ones. As such, several bike manufacturers have responded with specific bike designs.

If you’re optimizing your 2015 ski or snowboarding vacation for powder days, these are the top 10 North American ski resorts to maximize those chances.

The list of top 10 ski resorts has been compiled many times before, but I’ve always found the criteria too general. When you consider too many factors or put it to a popular vote, the output is generic. In trying to appeal to everyone, it satisfies no one.

The following list is based on two things: powder days and steep terrain. Having been an editor for POWDER Magazine and written a book on the history of snowboarding, I have some experience with steepness and deepness. This is what I live for. So when a helicopter is not an option, these are the ski resorts I frequent for powder days.

#1Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada: Whistler is the total package. A massive expanse of skiable terrain extends above the treeline and provides copious steep runs with top-to-bottom laps in excess of 5,000 vertical feet. Meanwhile, an idyllic ski village offers world-class accommodations, dining, and après skiing. And it’s all just a two-hour drive from Vancouver.

#2Snowbird, Utah: A nipple-deep powder day at Snowbird is something every hardcore skier or snowboarder must experience at least once. This is what gives Utah’s claim to “the greatest snow on earth” complete credibility.

#3Jackson Hole, Wyoming: While the on-mountain terrain is phenomenal, what sets Jackson apart is its exceptional out-of-bounds access. It also has the best start to the 2014/2015 season in terms of snowfall — more than 150 inches!

#4Mammoth Mountain, California: Big storms rolling off the Pacific routinely drop four or five feet of snow on Mammoth at a time, and its high elevation makes the snow lighter than what you find in Tahoe. The California drought made for a tough season, but if the law of averages holds true, then this year could be big.